Kristen Cibelli is a survey methodologist and field consultant to HRDAG. From 2004 to 2009, she worked in various capacities at the Benetech Human Rights Program assisting advocates in the collection, secure management, and analysis of data about human rights abuses. She advised partners, including truth commissions, human rights commissions, the United Nations and NGOs in countries including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Thailand (with groups in exile from Burma), Ivory Coast, Uganda and Chad. Her work also included training and advising partners in the use of Martus, Analyzer and data analysis in the human rights field. Kristen helped guide the development of Martus and Analyzer software, managing the needs of field users and setting priorities with data processing and software engineers.

At the beginning of 2004, she spent nine weeks in Sierra Leone working with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and assisting with the implementation of a household survey sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI). She co-authored the Statistical Appendix for the report of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She led Benetech’s efforts with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia, advising the TRC on data collection, the design of coding forms and process, and broadly on the use of large-scale data collection and analysis to support their truth-seeking mandate. She worked on site providing direct support to the TRC in Monrovia for eight months in 2008. Kristen co-authored the HRDAG Report and Annex to the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia.

Kristen worked as an intern with the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for six months before the group joined Benetech. During this time she participated in data projects including Chad and Sierra Leone and co-authored the HRDAG report on Chad.

In 1999-2000 she co-led a nationally representative survey of NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina about their perceptions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. This research resulted in the report “Justice Unknown, Justice Unsatisfied?: Bosnians Speak Out about the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,” co-authored with Tamy Guberek.

Kristen received her bachelor of arts degree in International Relations with a certificate in Peace and Justice Studies from Tufts University, and her master of science degree in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.